Hardy Acer not tops for portability

Trade

Solid performer . . . but maybe not one for the road

Acer has recently released a large number of portables carrying its consumer Aspire badge. The Aspire 5745PG is one that’s hard to fault.

Its strong build is largely due one of the most solid chassis around at this price. Design is minimal but sleek, with a glossy black lid and brushed aluminium finish on the palm-rests.

It has a firm keyboard with totally flat keys slightly raised from the chassis, making for great when typing.

The 15.6-inch widescreen display produces amazingly realistic images. The screen tilts well back, making for comfort when working on your lap, while new touch functionality mean you can prod the screen to move the cursor (or use the touchpad).

With over three hours of life and a weight of 2.7kg, it’s still feasible to take this laptop on the road.

At the heart of its performance is a Core i3 350M processor which provides more than enough muscle for multi-tasking with the most intensive office applications.

The dedicated Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics card provided stunning 3D performance, while the 320GB hard drive provides ample storage.

Networking is fast thanks to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, and there are four USB ports for attaching peripherals – though three of these are too close together for comfort.

While not a winner in the portability stakes, build quality, power and usability more than compensate.

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